Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 2182
For many, 1940 was a sad year.

On November 11, Philip Lothian, who started serving as the British ambassador to Southern Africa last year, died of illness.

Lord Halifax, the British foreign secretary, succeeds Lothian as the British ambassador to Southern Africa.

It is very rare for the current foreign secretary to serve as an ambassador in all countries, which also shows how much the UK attaches importance to southern Africa.

On November 11th, Neville, an old friend of the southern Africans who also served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and had a good personal relationship with Roque, passed away. Roque was very sad.

Neville and Roque have known each other for more than 30 years. When Neville passed away, Roque could not even go to London to see Neville for the last time, which made Roque very regretful.

The dead are gone, and the war continues.

On November 11, Russian Foreign Affairs Commissioner Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov visited Germany and was warmly received by Mustache and Ribbentrop.

Russia and Germany still maintain very close ties so far.

As early as 1939, Molotov met with German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop and signed a secret agreement, dividing the sphere of influence in Eastern Europe.

According to this agreement, Russia's sphere of influence covers Poland, the three Baltic states, Bessarabia and Finland.

Bessarabia refers to the triangle formed by the Transnistria, the Prut-Danube and the Black Sea. This area has historically changed hands several times between Romania and Russia.
At the same time that Germany launched "Operation Sickle", Russia sent troops to occupy Pissa Libya, and by the way, it also occupied North Bukovina, which is adjacent to Pissa Libya.

North Bukovina and South Bukovina are the main oil producing areas in Romania.

Russia was not satisfied after occupying North Bukovina. During Molotov's visit to Germany, he discussed with Mustache and Ribbentrop the possibility of dividing South Bukovina to Russia.

Romanian oil is the lifeline of Germany, and it is obviously impossible for Mustache to agree to Molotov's request.

Mustache even stated: Even if Russia only occupies a small part of North Bukovina, it would already be a huge concession for Germany.

The negotiations were difficult, and the Russians were woefully unprepared for the difficulties.

Before the start of "Operation Scythe", the Russians also believed that the process of the European War would fall into a situation of reducing holdings like World War I.

Unexpectedly, France lost too quickly, and the western front that the Russians imagined disappeared instantly, which made the Russians at a loss, and had to re-evaluate the strength of the German and Allied forces.

Mustache and Ribbentrop expressed optimistically to Molotov that Britain has disappeared as a big country and will surrender soon, when Germany will own the whole of Europe.

This made Molotov very uncomfortable.

Regardless of the fact that Russia's territory spans the Eurasian continent, Russians have always considered themselves a European country in their hearts.

Mustache says that Germany is about to own all of Europe, so where does that put Russia?
On November 11, after many difficult negotiations, Russia, Germany, Italy, and Japan signed a "Quadruple Pact".

In this secret treaty, Russia, Germany, Italy, and Japan respect each other's natural spheres of influence. Germany wants Western Europe, Italy wants North Africa, Japan wants Southeast Asia, and Russia wants the outlet of the Black Sea and the land passage to the Indian Ocean.

The Black Sea estuary is easy to understand, and it is still under the control of the League of Nations.

The land passage leading to the Indian Ocean will inevitably conflict with southern Africa, which Germany, Italy, and Japan are all happy to see.

While the Russians visit Berlin, fighting continues in North Africa.

Vervel's rubber troops achieved great success, Graziani was afraid to continue to attack, and the Italian North African Army and the Nile Army fell into a stalemate near Matruh.

Vervel was able to stabilize the front line thanks to the great help of the Mediterranean Fleet. Beirut is a port. The warships of the Mediterranean Fleet shelled the attacking Italian troops, and the Italians suffered heavy casualties.

The entire Mediterranean Fleet was able to support the Nile Army thanks to the actions of the Cyprus Squadron.

The British formally leased the Maltese Islands to Southern Africa for 99 years as part of the "destroyer-for-islands" program.

Known as the "Heart of the Mediterranean", Malta consists of five small islands including Malta Island, Gozo Island, Comino, Cominoto and Ferfra Island, with an area of ​​316 square kilometers and many natural harbors. Apart from limestone, which can be used for construction, there are no other resources available, and even fresh water is scarce.

None of this is a problem for Southern Africa.

After obtaining Malta, Mike Tolan, at the request of Cunningham, sent warships to cooperate with the Mediterranean Fleet to attack the warships and civilian ships of the Kingdom of Italy, and the pressure on the Mediterranean Fleet was relieved.

On December 12, under the command of Wervil, the Nile Army launched an attack on the Italian North African Army.

At this time, the Nile Army already had seven divisions and two brigades after continuous replenishment, including the newly formed Seventh Armored Division.

After owning a real armored division, Wervil finally didn’t have to send camels dragged by rakes to pretend to be tanks. At 9:7 am on the [-]th, a brigade of the British army launched an attack on Niberva, and the Italians surrendered with little resistance. The morale of the Nile Army was boosted.

At one o'clock in the afternoon, the 5th Armored Division, with the cooperation of the Colstream Guard, launched an attack on Sidi-Barani. The battle lasted until seven o'clock in the evening. The defenders of Sidi-Barani surrendered and took too many prisoners Unable to count, about 200 acres of officers, and [-] acres of soldiers.

On the 10th, the Italians began to retreat, Werwell boldly ordered troops to pursue, and the British army invaded Italian North Africa.

On the 15th, the Italian North African Army had all returned to Italian North Africa. The Nile Army had won a complete victory. It wiped out five divisions of the Italians and captured 3.8 Italian troops. Its own losses were only: 133 people were killed and 387 were injured. 8 people are missing.

The progress of the North African campaign shocked everyone.

On the one hand, people were surprised by Wervil's command, and on the other hand, they were also shocked by the stupidity of the Italians.

In the process of conquering the Abyssinian Empire, the Italians performed very well, and this time they finally showed their original shape.

Since the outbreak of the European War, the combat effectiveness of the German army has made everyone pessimistic about the prospects of the war.

Now the situation has finally changed. Britain received strong assistance from southern Africa, and the Italians behaved as before. After knowing the results of the North African campaign, Rommel lamented: If Italy declares war on our country, it only needs 10 divisions to destroy him. To remain neutral, 20 divisions are needed to monitor, and if Italy is an ally, 50 divisions need to be sent for protection.

Patton and Arthur were also shocked by the results of the North African campaign.

On Christmas Eve, Patton flew to Cyprus to meet with Arthur to discuss the battle plan for the coming year. During the discussion, the two talked about the North African War and expressed their hatred for the Italian army.

Hate the Italian army for not living up to expectations.

"The North African campaign has reached the current level, and Vervel has even more reason to refuse our help. Why can't the Italians fight for it!" Arthur was heartbroken, 30 people fought 10, and it was possible to fight like this, Grazia Ni is also really talented.

In fact, it is not true. It is unfair to Graziani to say this. After all, Italian North Africa is facing the threat of the Third Army stationed in French North Africa. It is impossible for Abiziani to devote all his troops to the battle against the Nile Army. .

Of course, Abiziani is not at a disadvantage. The main task of the Nile Army is to defend the Suez Canal, so it is impossible for Weaver to devote all his troops to the battle against the North African Army.

"It's not surprising. The Italians have always been like this. After all, they can't even beat the Greeks. What else can they expect from the Italians—" Patton didn't even mention East Africa.

As early as a month ago, the Second Army under the command of Feng Fu had occupied Addis Ababa, the capital of Abyssinia, and the battle in Italian East Africa was completely over.

In the process of conquering Italian East Africa, rather than saying that the Second Army performed well, it is better to say that the Italian East African Army was too hip.

Only 3.8 people were captured by Werville.

Feng Fu captured a total of 35 people.

During the four-month battle, the Second Army suffered a total of less than one thousand casualties, the vast majority of which were non-combat casualties. More soldiers were bitten by poisonous snakes than in battle.

After the start of the North African campaign, Feng Fu offered to Werwell that he could send troops to assist the North African Army in the battle, but Werver refused.

Graziani's stupidity gave Weville a chance to become famous in the first battle.

The Second Army has been devastated all the way, and the Italians can also use the Second Army's advanced equipment and strong troops as an excuse.

It is very difficult to find excuses for the failure of the North African Army.

"Italy's failure in North Africa and Greece, Germany will not sit idly by, and the war next year will be more difficult." Arthur is ready to face difficulties.

"The Germans are supporting Tripoli. If Wervil continues to attack, the Nile Army will be in danger. Rommel is not Graziani—" Patton is looking forward to Rommel, a rising star in the German army.

According to the latest news, Graziani has been dismissed by the fat bald head after his failure in the North African campaign. It is Rommel who replaced Graziani to command the German-Italian coalition forces to fight in North Africa.

There is another news that Germany is preparing to send troops to participate in the attack on Greece. The Greek government asked the United Kingdom for assistance. The British War Department transferred two divisions originally belonging to the Nile Army to Greece. A moment of respite.

This made Arthur very helpless.

It is probably because the federal government of Southern Africa’s transformation of the Dodecanese Islands after occupying the Dodecanese Islands aroused the concerns of Greece and the United Kingdom, so this time Greece only asked for help from the United Kingdom and did not ask for assistance from Southern Africa.

The United Kingdom is also worried that once Greece surrenders, Germany will be able to use more power to attack the British mainland, so it does not hesitate to give up the good situation in North Africa and deploy troops from Egypt to assist Greece.

This can be regarded as a trick of good fortune.

(End of this chapter)